Images: Thrice, O’Brother May 5, 2012 at the Hard Rock Café on the Strip

It’s hard to believe that after almost 15 years as a band, Irvine, CA hardcore/punk rock/alternative (this could go on for a while) band Thrice have decided to call it a day. Those of us who have lived in Vegas during that time were lucky enough to see them dozens of times over the years – their first out-of-state show with Taken and Curl Up and Die, playing the Red White and Boom at Desert Breeze with The Vandals and… Jefferson Starship (yes, the “We Built This City” guys), the Orleans with Dashboard Confessional and the Get Up Kids and countless House of Blues shows – but even then it is hard to say goodbye to these musical chameleons who have had such an impact on the punk scene.

Plenty of others are sure to miss the band as well, as the Hard Rock Café on the Strip boasted a rare sellout with people of all ages coming out to wish the band goodbye. And Thrice did not disappoint, finally indulging fans who have been craving to hear the band’s back catalog live for so many years. The quartet’s first three albums redefined what a punk and hardcore band could be, with Dustin showcasing his amazing scream alongside his fantastic singing voice. While the band elicited cheers and crowd surfing as soon as they took the stage it was when they resurrected the title track to their major label debut The Artist in the Ambulance that things really got going. Gasps of disbelief quickly faded to one of the loudest sing alongs I’ve heard in some time, but were soon dwarfed by the louder screams and stamping feet from the pit brought about by “Kill Me Quickly” and “Silhouette,” from the band’s second and third records respectively.

Thrice paid respect to all of their recorded output that night, so fans of any era were not left out. While the first three records generally got the largest responses, tracks like “Firebreather” from The Alchemy Index and the title track to their latest Beggars had their own share of fans and sounded fantastic live.

Last time the band played Vegas they reintroduced into their set the ever popular “Phoenix Ignition”from their debut Identity Crisis and it was here again, along with fellow IC tracks “T & C”and the title track. Identity Crisis is often maligned by fans of even the following record due to its relative simplicity and closer association with pop punk and hardcore but it’s the record that turned me on to the band and is so filled with early college nostalgia for me that I couldn’t help singing along through the biggest ear-to-ear grin. I’ve missed these songs and it was great to have them back for the night.

If Thrice really is gone for good I will continue to miss them but I’ll always have 14 great years and this amazing show to think back fondly on.

-Emily Matview

Photos by Tyler Newton | http://500px.com/spottedlens

Thrice setlist:

1. Yellow Belly
2. Image of the Invisible
3. The Artist in the Ambulance
4. Kill Me Quickly
5. Silhouette
6. In Exile
7. The Weight
8. Identity Crisis
9. Promises
10. Daedalus
11. Words in the Water
12. The Earth Will Shake
13. Firebreather
14. Digital Sea
15. Under a Killing Moon
16. Stare at the Sun
17. Deadbolt
18. To Awake and Avenge the Dead
19. Beggars

Encore:

1. Come All You Weary
2. Helter Skelter
3. (The Beatles cover)
4. Phoenix Ignition
5. T & C

Encore 2:

1. Anthology